Chopped soapweed as emergency feed for cattle on southwestern ranges

Historic, archived document

Do not assume content reflects current
scientific knowledge, policies, or practices.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

BULLETIN No. 745 Wee

~

Contribution from the Forest Service
HENRY S. GRAVES, Forester

Washington, 1D. C. Vv January 29, 1919

CHOPPED SOAPWEED AS EMERGENCY FEED
FOR CATTLE ON SOUTHWESTERN RANGES.

By C. L. Forstine, Grazing Examiner.

CONTENTS.

Page. Page.
The need of emergency feed.....-.-..------- 1 | The time required for cattle to learn to cat
Soapweed as range forage.......---.- Eek. f5-92.. 2 Soapweedts. chic. Vee ee oe Re aS iL
Cut soapweed as emergency feed........-..-- 3 | The amount of soapweed cattle willeat...... 12
The collection of soapweed......------------ 7 | Ileffects from eating soapweed.....--..-.--- 12
The preparation of soapweed....-.---------- 9 | Fattening on soapweed and cottonseed meal. . 13
Feeding the soapweed....-...-.------------- 10 | Growth habits of soapweed....-.-..--.-.----- 13
The cost of soapweed feed ........-.-.-..-.--- 10 | Necessity for conservative, selective cutting. . 15
The cost of a maintenance ration...........- iy) Wselotzelatedispecies/ a) eases qasenaeeeeo meee 17

THE NEED OF EMERGENCY FEED.

Heavy losses of stock resulting from long periods of drought are
the greatest handicap of the stock industry on the ranges of the
Southwest. Such droughts have occurred at intervals of from. 3 to
10 years. When these droughts continue for more than a year the
situation becomes critical because of lack of range forage or other
available feed.

Cottonseed products serve well as supplemental feed in times when
enough range forage is available to provide the necessary roughage.
During prolonged droughts like the present one, which began early
in 1916 and continues unbroken at the present time (June 15, 1918),
the range forage crop may be so small as to require other roughage
as well as concentrated feeds.

The problem may be solved in part in some of the less arid regions
by raising fodder crops by dry farming. The ranges where this is
practicable at present, however, are not extensive. Ona few ranges,
adjacent to irrigated districts, the necessary emergency feeds might
be furnished by crops from such irrigated areas; but this supply at

81176°—19—Bull. 745——1

2 BULLETIN 745, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

best would be restricted to range in the immediate vicinity of the
irrigated areas and would not provide emergency feed for the larger
portion of the ranges of the Southwest, where losses have been heavy,
and where breeding herds established through years of effort have
been sacrificed.

In the hope of meeting the problem on such ranges, at least to an
extent which will make it possible to maintain the breeding herd
over critical periods, the Department of Agriculture for a number of
years has been cooperating with a practical stockman on the Jornada

ange Reserve! in southern New Mexico in working out a compre-
hensive plan of range management and supplemental feeding. For
several years this plan has included investigation of the use of native
vegetation as emergency feed. The results of range management
with supplemental feeding, and of the initial tests to determine the
value of soapweed as ensilage, were reported in Department of
Agriculture Bulletin 588.2. Later investigations, including extensive
experimental feeding, have shown conclusively that soapweed, if
properly utilized, is of great value as an emergency stock feed.

SOAPWEED AS RANGE FORAGE.

Soapweed (Yucca elata) 1s recognized as a valuable forage plant
in its native state on the range. The green leaves are eaten during
winter and spring, especially when a shortage of other forage exists.
Ordinarily, the sharp points of the leaves discourage grazing, but
where other forage is scarce cattle learn to chew the leaves from the
center or base toward the sharp end. It is very difficult to estimate
the exact food value of each plant, but where from 170 to 300 plants
per acre are found no small amount of forage may be obtained from
them. In the fall of 1917 a herd of cattle in southern New Mexico
was maintained for at least two months on a range where the green
soapweed leaves furnished’50 per cent or more of the forage. On
an overgrazed pasture at a distance of 2 miles from water 47 per
cent of the soapweed plants were grazed; and on closely grazed
range 3 miles from water about 30 per cent were grazed. In many
eases the entire leafage of soapweed plants was utilized.

The soapweed blossoms are of especially great value. The panicles
of large white flowers appear on stalks commonly from 4 to 10 feet

1The Jornada Range Reserve is located in Dona Ana County, N. Mex., about 50 miles
nerth of the Mexican boundary. It includes a range unit of approximately 200,000 acres.
The average rainfall is less than 9 inches and varies from 3.5 inches to 15 inches.

Mr. C. T. Turney, the cooperating stockman, originated the idea of using the soapweed
as a supplemental feed on the Jornada Range Reserve and was principally responsible for
getting manufacturers to develop the machines which are now used successfully in chop-
ping the soapweed.

2 Jardine, J. T., and Hurtt, L. C., Increased Cattle Production on Southwestern Ranges,
Bulletin 588, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1917.

CHOPPED SOAPWEED AS EMERGENCY FEED. 3

tall. Both the stalks and the flowers are palatable. The stalks begin
to make their appearance early in May, and the stalks and flowers
are good forage until late in June. Cattle thrive on them. Besides,
they are so succulent that cattle grazing on them can go several days
without water. This makes possible the use, for a short period at
least, of range which otherwise might not be utilized on account of
its great distance from water. The value of the bloom crop is in-
creased by the fact that it occurs during a critical season when other
forage usually is scarce and the stock is in poor condition. Without
it, it would be difficult in many cases to carry the stock through until
the summer rains. The main drawback is the uncertainty of a full
crop. Large crops occur at intervals of several years, usually in the
spring following a rainy autumn. However, some of the plants
bloom each year, so that a small annual supply can be depended
upon.

The young leaves or growing tips of the soapweed stems also are
valuable for forage immediately after growth has started in the
spring. It is common to see a cow go from one plant to another
biting out the center or growing tips.

The value of soapweed as stock forage in its native state on the
range makes it desirable, other things being equal, to use range sup-
porting the heaviest stands of soapweed during the winter and
spring. This practice, of course, should vary so as to secure the
maximum use of the most important forage plants on the area.

Close observation during the winter, spring, and early summer on
closely grazed cattle ranges where soapweed occurs in any abundance
will convince anyone that soapweed is valuable as a range forage
plant. Hven when grazed to the best advantage, however, it does not
adequately meet the requirements of an emergency feed. The nour-
ishment obtained from grazing the leaves alone is not sufficient to
tide an animal over for more than a very short period, and drought
may make it necessary to give additional feed to stock long before
the growth of the soapweed begins.

CUT SOAPWEED AS EMERGENCY FEED.

PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENTS.

Investigations to determine the practicability of cutting and feed-
ing soapweed were begun at the Jornada Range Reserve in 1915. In
December, 1915, approximately 150 tons of the heads and leaf por-
tions were gathered and run.through an ordinary ensilage cutter into
a pit silo. In March, 1916, the silo was opened and about 10 tons
of the soapweed ensilage was fed to poor cows over a- period of sev-
eral weeks. The results of the feeding were encouraging, although

4 BULLETIN 745, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

the stock had difficulty in eating the ensilage (which they relished)
because the cutter had not chopped the material fine enough.

The silo was opened again in January, 1918, and about 30 tons of
the ensilage fed to poor cows, many of them suckling calves. About
15 pounds of a mixture of ensilage and cottonseed meal, in the ratio
of 10 pounds to 1, was fed to each cow daily. The ensilage was in a
good state of preservation, and the leaves had softened a good deal;
but the fiber appeared to be about as tough as when the material
was put into the silo in 1915. The feeding gave good results. The
silo was closed again to save the remainder of the ensilage for
emergency.

After the feeding of 1915-16, investigations were made to deter-
mine the food value of the stems and leaves of the soapweed plants.
The following results of chemical analyses show that the material
as a whole has a comparatively high.food value.

Chemical analyses of soapweed (Yucca elata), compared with chemical analyses
of important native range grasses of the same locality, on moisture-free basis.

Soapweed.!

Stems. | Leaves.

Per cent. | Per cent.

SAIS) 0 ae ai ooh AES Sada Oa aS ae Ca end Re a 8.4 6.7
TBE OTHO RETA Ge ye ae ea a as sh i oe aa 2.0 3.6
PIO ESM Ae ae ee CE Na 2 PARA Rae Bis Sate ee RS Ae EEO 4.25 8.2
Ore Dio Vi il OG RS BAe SC is ae 2 Sale Aer an eels CEA ONS Sy Roa ee 35.1 38.4

Chemical analyses of soapweed (Yucca elata), compared with chemical analyses
of alfalfa, corn ensilage, and fresh green timothy, on moisture basis.

Nitro- | Number
Water. | Ash. een Protein. Gide gen-free | ofanaly-
4 * |extract.| Ses.

ss) > eS eS eS a ree

Per cent.|Per cent. |Per pee Per cent.|Per cent. |Per cent.

Soapweed StemSioee eee saaeea eee cecae 54.7 3.6 3 Ae : 24.1 2
Soapweed leaves3..........------------ 42.3 3.6 3.1 4.5 22.3 24.2 2
Fresh green alfalfa #528) 22. 22 ae 74.7 2.4 1.0 4.5 7.0 10.4 143
Immature corn ensilage‘............-.- FBi) 17 8 a 6.3 15.4 121
Fresh green timothy #..-.......---.---- 62.5 2.2 1.2 Suk sz 19.3 88

1

1 Average of four analyses made by the Bureau of Chemistry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, from
samples submitted Sept. 10, 1917, Apr. 18, May 14, and May 31, 1918.

2 Average of 24 analyses made by the Bureau of Chemistry, U.S. Department of Agriculture, from sam-
ples submitted each month beginning April, 1916, and ending March, 1918.

3 Average of two analyses by Bureau of Chemistry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, from samples sub-
mitted May 14 and May 31, 1918. ’

_4 Analyses of alfalfa, corn ensilage, and timothy taken from ‘‘ Feeds and Feeding” by Henry and Mor-

rison.

The two native grasses, black grama grass (Bouteloua eriopoda)
and red three-awn grass (Arzstida longiseta) are the most important
grasses on the Jornada Range Reserve, and yet the comparison is

CHOPPED SOAPWEED AS EMERGENCY FEED. 5

slightly in favor of the soapweed. Although soapweed is consider-
ably higher in crude fiber and ash than fresh green alfalfa, immature
corn ensilage, and fresh green timothy, the comparison in the amount
of ether extract (fat) protein, and nitrogen-free extract is favorable
_ enough to indicate that the soapweed is a valuable feed so far as this
is determined by chemical analysis alone.

Steps were taken also to secure a machine which would chop the
plants finer, and several types of machines designed to cut the entire
soapweed plant into material more suitable for feeding were put on
the market early in 1918. One of these was installed at the Jornada
Range Reserve January 13, 1918, and was there perfected to chop
the plants satisfactorily.

SOAPWEED FEEDING ON THE JORNADA RANGE RESERVE IN 1918.

As a result of the prolonged drought the range forage crop on
the Jornada Range Reserve in 1917 was far below normal. Conse-
quently little range forage was left by January 1, 1918, and it was
apparent that extensive feeding would be necessary to maintain a
large percentage of the cows suckling calves and the cows heavy with
calf. Accordingly, the feeding of chopped soapweed and cottenseed
meal was begun January 20, 1918, with the object of preventing loss
of cattle and maintaining the herd as cheaply as possible over the
critical period until range forage became available. Riders were
set to work gathering cows that were approaching .a critical con-
dition, and the number in. the feed lot was increased daily. Soap-
weed feeding was still in progress June 15, 1918.

During the first 70 days of feeding an unsystematic effort was made
to segregate the weaker cattle and feed them separately from the
rest. Where a large number of cattle varying in condition are fed
in one feed lot, the weaker ones are crowded away from the feed and
will not improve in condition as they should.

Segregation was found to be important, and after the first 70 days
the work was systematized so that the poorer cows were placed in
a feed lot by themselves in small groups where they could receive
individual attention if necessary, and were fed a slightly heavier
ration than the main herd. After a short period of special attention
and of feeding on the heavier ration, many of the poorer cows im-
proved in condition and were put with the main herd on the lighter
feeding.

It was found that the poorer cows when fed a daily ration of 25
pounds of the chopped soapweed and 3 pounds of cottonseed meal
gained sufficiently in strength and condition in from 20 to 30 days to
go into the main lot on a lighter ration. Stock in the main feed lot
were fed a ration of from 15 to 20 pounds of the chopped soapweed.
and from 1 to 14 pounds of cottonseed meal. After from 35 to 40

6 BULLETIN 745, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

days on this ration about 85 per cent of the stock were put back on
the range and fed 14 pounds per day of cottonseed cake alone to sup-
plement the dry grass and scattered browse forage available.

The number of cattle on feed varied from day to day. For the
first 100 days the daily average was 340 head, varying from 500 head
to 200 head for short periods following the Coie of stock from the
feed tot to the range. More than 1,000 different individuals were in
the feed lots between January 20 and June 1.

During the first 100 days approximately 306 tons of the chopped
soapweed were fed, and feeding was continued at approximately the
same rate up to June 1. The average period that individual animals
were fed on soapweed and cottonseed meal during the first 100 days
of feeding was 35 days. Some animals were fed during the entire
period and others less than two weeks. After about 35 days of feed- _
ing on the soapweed and cottonseed meal the majority of the animals
gained in strength and flesh sufficiently to warrant their being put
back on pasture with a daily feeding of 14 pounds of cottonseed cake.

No weights of cattle were taken to determine accurately the gains
made as a result of the feeding. Under practical range conditions in
time of drought, however, the measure of success in feeding is the
percentage of cattle carried over the critical period without excessive
cost and without the sacrifice of the breeding herd or a great reduc-
tion in the calf crop. It is estimated that without the soapweed
feeding probably 50 per cent of the 1,000 head fed during approxi-
mately 150 days from January to June would have been lost. It
might have been possible to save the other 50 per cent by a ration of
cottonseed cake to supplement the scant range forage. As a result of
the feeding the losses due to starvation from approximately 2,500
head were approximately 1 per cent for the 150-day period, and the
breeding stock are in condition to produce a reasonably good calf
crop provided the drought is broken by summer rains. Furthermore,
the breeding stock on the reserve have been maintained at approxi-
mately the number the area will carry normally, and the efforts of
years in building up the breeding herd have not been lost. Conse-
quently, normal production of live stock will begin at once after the
drought is broken.

On near-by ranges without provision for reserving pasturage or for
extensive feeding, losses have been from 10 to 20 per cent during the
first 150 days of 1918. In some cases where the range was et
stocked the breeding stock have been sacrificed and material loss has
been suffered both in the death of animals and in low market prices
due to the poor condition of the stock.

The cost of feeding, as well as the success achieved in preventing
losses, is influenced greatly by the ability of the riders who gather
the animals. Careful riders accustomed to handling poor cattle sort |

CHOPPED SOAPWEED AS EMERGENCY FEED. 7

out only those animals which must be fed to prevent loss, so that
unnecessary feeding of the stronger animals as well as unnecessary
loss through failure to feed the weaker ones is avoided. Where a
range is totally denuded of forage it is necessary, of course, to main-
tain the entire herd on the soapweed and cottonseed meal feeding.
This, however, is rarely the case. More often the stronger animals
can be maintained on the range without other feed; those not exceed-
ingly poor and weak can be maintained by feeding from 1 to 2
pounds of cottonseed products daily to supplement the range forage;
and only the weaker ones have to be fed the soapweed and cotton-
seed products.

SOAPWEED FEEDING ON OTHER RANGES IN 1918.

Stockmen throughout the Southwest have watched with interest
the development of soapweed feeding, and many of them using
ranges where conditions are similar to those of the Jornada Range
Reserve secured machines to chop the soapweed and began feeding
operations early in 1918. It is estimated that more than 100 herds
varying from a few head to 1,000 head were being fed soapweed by
June 1, 1918. In a few cases at least the soapweed was tried as a
feed without cottonseed products. So far as observations went, how-
ever, the results were not entirely satisfactory, and cottonseed meal
was added. This method of feeding has usually given good results,
and there is no doubt that by it many thousands of-cattle were saved
from starvation during the first five months of 1918.

THE COLLECTION OF SOAPWEED.

BURNING AWAY DEAD LEAVES.

The dry dead leaves are very low in nutritive value, as is shown
by chemical analysis, and are exceptionally high in crude fiber con-
tent, which makes digestion difficult. They are very dry and harsh
and extremely unpalatable. It is desirable, therefore, to remove them
before chopping the soapweed. This can be accomplished best. by
burning the dead portions from: the plants while they are standing
in the field, provided the vegetation on the ground is not enough
to spread the fire. The dry leaves burn readily and in a short time,
leaving uninjured the succulent stem and the green foliage at the
top of the plant. One man with a torch working ahead of the men
doing the cutting and hauling can burn the dead portions of from 8
to 15 tons of soapweed plants per day. <A simple and effective torch
may be made from a dead soapweed trunk from 12 to 18 inches long
carried on an iron rod 5 to 6 feet long with a small hook at one end.
Such: dry, dead trunks are plentiful, light, and easily handled.

Burning can be done best on days when little or no wind is blow-
ing, as high winds often extinguish the fire before the dead leaves
are completely burned. No depreciation in the food value of the

8 BULLETIN 745, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

plants appears to follow from standing several days after burning,
and by burning several days ahead, of the cutting, it is possible to
avoid days when the wind is high.

_ Where there is danger of fire spreading over the range, burning
should be done after the plants have been hauled to the ones
machine and arranged on the ground. To avoid undue shrinkage,
the plants should be placed in rows two plants wide with the butts
together and the green tops to the outside. This precaution prevents
fire from becoming hot enough to burn the green leaves or succulent
stem, and keeps the shrinkage down to about 30 per cent of the
original weight. Where the plants are scattered thickly over the
ground (PI. I, fig. 2) burning results in a shrinkage of about 40 per
cent, the increase being due to the fire’s becoming hot enough to burn
the green leaves.

SELECTING AND CUTTING THE PLANTS IN THE FIELD.

On the Jornada Range Reserve plants 36 inches or less in height
were not cut, and occasionally plants tall enough for the seed stalks
to be out of the reach of cattle were left for seeding. The plants
-under 36 inches were left on the range partly as a protection for
the soil against wind erosion, partly because they furnish consider-
able grazing until the growing tips, seed stalks, and flowers are
beyond the reach of cattle, and partly because small plants can not
be handled in the feeding operations as economically as larger ones.

The plants were cut at the surface of the ground. Investigations
are under way to determine whether this procedure should be modi-
fied in order to insure the production of new growth in the minimum
time. After cutting, the new leaves begin growth just below the
ground surface, and it may be necessary to leave a small portion
of the stem above ground. |

HAULING THE PLANTS TO THE CHOPPING MACHINE.

As the plants were cut they were loaded upon a wide rack and
arranged in orderly rows, so as to make the most effective use of
space and facilitate unloading. Both loading and unloading are
done most conveniently by hand.

*Where the feeding operations are on a rather extensive scale a
erew can be kept cutting and hauling continually. <A crew of four
men with two 4-mule teams for hauling can work to good advan-
tage. One man acting as foreman directs the operations, selects
the plants for cutting, and burns off the dead leaves, if burning is
done before the plants are cut. Two men with axes cut the plants
and pass them up to a.third man, who arranges them on the rack
and drives the team. A crew of this size can select, burn, cut, and
haul four loads, approximately 8 tons, per day where the haul is
not over 24 miles.

Bul. 745, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. PLATE lI.

Fic. I.—SOAPWEED PLANTS WHICH HAVE BEEN EXTENSIVELY GRAZED BY CATTLE
ON AN OVERGRAZED RANGE.

Such general grazing of soapweed and stubby appearance of the plants are good indications that
the range is overstocked.

Fic. 2.—BREEDING CATTLE BEING FED FROM I5 To 20 POUNDS OF SOAPWEED
WITH FROM I TO 144 POUNDS OF COTTONSEED MEAL PER DAY TO MAINTAIN
THEM THROUGH A DROUGHT AT THE JORNADA RANGE RESERVE.

Over 1,000 poor cows on the Reserve were fed between January 20 and June 15, 1918, and thousands

of head were fed a similar ration on other stock ranches of the Southwest during the spring
of 1918.

Fic. 3.—CUTTING AND LOADING SOAPWEED.

Four men with two wagons and eight mules can cut and haul 8 tons per day when the haul
is not over 2} miles.

Bul. 745, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

PLATE II.

Fic. |.—SOAPWEED READY TO BE CUT FOR STOCK FEED.

The dead leaves have been burned off. One hundred and fifty plants, each averaging 35 pounds
in weight, or more than 5,200 pounds of soapweed per acre, were cut from this area. It is
probable that more careful selection in cutting should have been practiced so as to leave
enough plants for protection against wind erosion. There are fewer young plants here than
in the average stand over the range.

Fic. 2,.—WHERE SOAPWEEDS ARE ARRANGED IN THIS MANNER AND BURNED

TO REMOVE THE DEAD LEAVES, THE FIRE GETS TOO HOTAND BURNS PART
OF THE GREEN LEAVES.

The loss in weight resulting from such burning on the Jornada Range Reserve was 42 per cent.
Where the plants were arranged in rows two plants wide with the butts to the center, the loss
in weight from burning was approximately 30 per cent. Burning on the range as shown in
fig. 1 above is the most effective method where there is no danger of fire Spreading and where
there are but few young soapweed sprouts which may be killed by the fire.

CHOPPED SOAPWEED AS EMERGENCY FEED. 9

THE PREPARATION OF SOAPWEED.

CHOPPING.

At least two types of machines have been developed to convert
the stems and leaves into feed. One works on the principle of the
ordinary feed chopper and cuts or slices the stems; the other works
on the principle of the ordinary. “ wood hog” and shreds or tears
the plant into particles small enough to be eaten readily by cattle.

The chopper has a heavy drumlike wheel, from 24 to 30 inches in
diameter and from 12 to 14 inches wide, on the circumference of
which are several heavy knives arranged to work against a cutter
bar of heavy steel on the frame of the machine. The wheel makes
from 250 to 300 revolutions per minute. It is mounted on a frame
and is covered with a hood to prevent throwing off the cut particles
of feed. The soapweed plants, after being lifted to the machine, are
carried automatically over the cutter bar, and the knives chop the
stem into particles somewhat resembling thin slices of pineapple.
A 15 or 20 horsepower engine is required to operate successfully
the larger machines first put on the market. The plants are fibrous
and tough, so that power enough to maintain the cutting wheel at
high speed is essential. These, when in proper order and when op-
erated by experienced men, will chop from 25 to 30: tons of soap- -
weed per day. |

Three men are required to operate the chopper at full capacity:
One man lifts the soapweed plants to the carrier of the machine, an-
other places them in contact with the carrier, and a. third clears the
chopped feed away from the back of the machine.

The shredding machine consists of a heavy sheet-iron box approxi-
mately 16 inches wide, 16 inches long, and 36 inches deep, having
at the bottom a small drum set with numerous tooth-edged knives.
The soapweed plant is placed on end in the boxlike arrangement
and with slight pressure from the hand of the feeder is forced to
come in contact with the drum set full of teeth. This drum is ro-
tated at a rate of 500 revolutions per minute, and the teeth coming
in contact with the soapweed plant tear or shred it into small par-
ticles. This machine may be operated by two or three men, and re-
quires an 8-horsepower engine. The capacity 1s much lower than
that of the chopping machine.

Neither machine cuts the leaves of the soapweed very much, but
both tear them apart enough for cattle to eat them.

MIXING SOAPWEED AND COTTONSEED MEAL.

The best way to mix cottonseed meal with soapweed is to sprinkle
the meal over the chopped soapweed in successive layers as it is
loaded into wagons to be hauled to the feed lot.

81176°—19—Bull. 745——2

10 BULLETIN 745, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

FEEDING WITH SOAPWEED.

HAULING TO THE FEED LOT.

A common wagon with a bed from 14 to 24 inches deep can be used
for hauling the feed from the chopper to the feed lot. When the
feed is lightly trampled an ordinary wagon bed 20 inches deep will
hold from 1,400 to 1,800 pounds, or approximately 20 pounds to the
cubic foot. With one team and wagon two men can haul 10 loads
per day, so that they would be able to feed 1,000 cattle per day at
the rate of 15 pounds per head per day. The- chopped feed can
readily be handled with the ordinary hay or manure fork.

METHODS OF FEEDING.

The best results have been obtained by feeding the soapweed in
troughs or racks. It is possible to feed on hard ground, but at best
this is wasteful. The troughs are most efficient when cottonseed
meal is fed with the soapweed.

Substantial troughs 16 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 1 foot deep,
which gives a. large enough capacity to minimize waste, were found
very satisfactory in the feeding operations at the Jornada Range
Reserve. They were made of 2-inch yellow pine lumber, with bot-
tom “tongued and grooved” to retain cottonseed meal, and were set
upon substantial legs placed at each end and in the middle, bolted to
the sides and securely braced and long enough to leave a space of 18
inches between the trough and the ground. This is high enough
from the ground to eliminate most of the danger of the stronger
cows hooking the weaker ones into the trough.

To get the best results enough troughs should be provided so that
there will not be more than from 12 to 16 cows for each trough.

THE COST OF SOAPWEED FEED.

The cost of operations necessary in feeding soapweed, not including
cost of cottonseed meal, on the Jornada Range Reserve was approxi-
mately $2.27 per ton. This figure is the cost after the men had be-
come familiar with the work. At first it was about $2.75 per ton.
The item of wages includes board.

The cost of each step is given below:

Burning, cutting. and hauling from range to chopper :

1 foreman and burner, at $1.66, per, day.s—_+—_._- $1. 66
S$ daborers,.at SL50) per day <.ce se oo a) ee ee eae 4.50
8 mules (feed ):sa6;:S0:S0aper daagye oe peice pe a ts tee ee 4.00

10.16

Capacity per day. 8 tons.
Cost per ton. Ss eh a Eee $1. 27

CHOPPED SOAPWEED AS EMERGENCY FEED. 11

Chopping into feed:

AOREMIANIA- At) POM WCT Ma Wes a a Be $2. 00
EL WORGLS! AG sil sel POST Dy eal ey sets NON NONYON Oa PEO OR 4.50
Fuel (gas and oil), at $4.50 per day______=§_-_____-._____--___ | 4.50
Reparrs ete! att ot per Gay 22 ee oe ee ae 4. 00
15. 00
Capacity per day, 25 tons.
COSEM PET COTE tie) Wai OF Menke a ILE Ny 2 TE ed ee a a $0. 60
Hauling from cutter to feed lot:
Del VOLES ati ol DO MOT Gaya ee ol Ble OE a $3. 00
2 eIaMIMeS! GLeCd)) Wat PO DOL PCELGAY 22 a si ee ae an 1. 00
4. 00
Capacity per day, 10 tons.
WOst ere te Tee Re aaa el Re My fel ae Rh a ei AT atte 0 ee . 40

Total cost per ton delivered to the feed troughs_________________ Pagel (
THE COST OF A MAINTENANCE RATION.

The cost of cottonseed meal used at the Jornada Range Reserve
in 1918 was approximately $63.50 per ton at the reserve. The cost
of the soapweed was $2.27 per ton. At this rate a daily ration of
from 15 to 20 pounds of the soapweed with from 1 to 14 pounds of
cottonseed meal cost approximately from $1.46 to $1.95 per head per
month, which is a reasonable figure compared with the average cost
of a maintenance ration of hay, even if hay were available.

This cost does not include the cost of machinery, nor depreciation
on machinery, wagons, and equipment, nor any charge for the serv-
ices of mules, nor the cost of. riding to gather the poor cattle put on
feed. and to keep the poorest ones segregated from the rest in the
feed lots. Most of these items will vary greatly and can be esti-
mated best by the individual feeder for his intended operations.
The riding will not be much greater than is ordinarily done to look
after the stock in times when range 1s short, and most stock ranches
have work horses or mules which would probably be idle if not used
in the feeding operations.

A chopping machine of about 25 or 30 tons daily capacity and an
engine to run it cost approximately $1,000 early in 1918.

THE TIME REQUIRED FOR CATTLE TO LEARN TO EAT SOAPWEED.

Little or no trouble has been experienced in getting poor breed-
ing cattle to eat the chopped soapweed, and after they begin they
relish it. Not a single animal among approximately 1,000 head fed
on the Jornada Range Reserve seemed to dislike the feed or refuse
to eat it at the first feeding. Feeding cottonseed meal with this
highly palatable feed soon accustoms range cattle to the taste of

12 BULLETIN 745, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

cottonseed products. This is of importance because range cattle
placed on feed for the first time often require from 7 to 10 days
before they are eating cottonseed products to advantage if the meal
or cake is fed alone.

THE AMOUNT OF SOAPWEED CATTLE WILL EAT.

In the feeding at the Jornada Range Reserve it was found that
poor breeding cows will be maintained or will improve slightly in
condition on from 15 to 20 pounds of the soapweed feed and from 1
to 14 pounds of cottonseed meal per day. This is a sufficient ration
to maintain breeding stock over a period of drought. A mature
animal if given all it wants of a mixture of 15 pounds soapweed to 1
of meal will eat about 50 pounds daily.

ILL EFFECTS FROM EATING SOAPWEED.

There is a slight danger from overfeeding with soapweed when
stock are first put on feed, and some danger of choking. If cattle
unaccustomed to eating the feed are supplied all they will eat the
first few days, they’ may be affected by bloating, sometimes resulting
in death. This bloating is not very noticeable and comes on quickly
after a cow has overeaten. When death results it occurs very soon
after bloating begins, and the animals seem to be in great pain for
a short period. Loss of two cows out of more than 1,000 fed on the
Jornada Range Reserve was attributed to this cause. Choking may
result from. the attempt of a cow to swallow too large a piece of the
soapweed. Post-mortem examination of a cow that died apparently
from starvation as a result of obstruction of the food passageway
revealed a large piece of soapweed lodged in the esophagus at a
point approximately between the lungs.

The danger of both bloating and choking can be overcome by
proper management. Poor cattle that have been on short pasturage
should not be allowed to overeat soapweed during the first few days.
There is less danger after stock become accustomed to the feed. The
danger from choking will be slight at most, and it can be avoided by
the use of proper machinery to cut the plants into smaller pieces.

No bad purging or scouring effect, such as might be expected from
the plant’s soaplike qualities, resulted from feeding the soapweed.
Cattle fed over 100 days, extending into the time when the sap had
begun to rise or growth had begun in the plants, were not affected
at all. Rather than ill effect there is an apparent good effect. Nor-
mally, stock on dry feed at this time of the year are badly consti-
pated and doubtless would do better if given more purgative. It
was found on the Jornada Range Reserve that the soapweed kept the
digestive tract of the animals in excellent condition. There was a

CHOPPED SOAPWEED AS EMERGENCY FEED. 13

slight effect of scouring on an. occasional animal after the time the
sap began to rise, but this was exceptional.

To determine any 11] effects upon the digestive tract of the animal
from feeding with soapweed, two range steers, one 4 and the other 5
years of age, were fed all the soapweed and cottonseed meal, in the
proportion of 1 pound of meal to 15 of soapweed, that they would
eat. One steer was fed for 65 days and the other for 87 days. The
average daily consumption was slightly over 50 pounds. Both steers
were butchered and carefully examined as to the effect of the feed
on the digestive tract and on the meat. All the thoracic and abdomi-
nal viscera in both steers were normal. The fluidity of the viscera
was marked, which may have been due in part to the ration of soap-
weed. The mucous membranes of the first, third, and fourth stom-
achs had a marked soapy appearance and touch. The fat was of good
color and a firm consistency. The quality of the meat was first-
class—tender and juicy. There was no evidence whatever, either in
the meat or in the fat, that soapweed was the principal ration, and
no impaction or other irregularity was found in the digestive tract.

FATTENING ON SOAPWEED AND COTTONSEED MEAL.

Of the two steers mentioned above, the one fed 65 days, a grade
Angus, weighed 1,164 pounds on foot when butchered, having gained-
approximately 200 pounds in the 65-day period. The dressed car-
cass of this steer was 53.9 per cent of the live weight. The other, a
native Mexico steer, weighed only 850 pounds and made no gain
after the first 60 days of feeding. It dressed 52.9 per vent of the live
weight.

The greatest value of soapweed is undoubtedly as an emergency-
maintenance ration, and the* available supply should be conserved
for this use instead of being utilized for fattening purposes.

GROWTH HABITS OF SOAPWEED.

66

Soapweed (Yucca elata’), or “palmilla,” as it is called by the
Spanish-speaking people of the Southwest, is one of the most com-

1Yucca elata Engelm., according to Wooton and Standley (Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb.
19: 135. 1915), is distinguished from the other New Mexican yuccas (of which 8 species
in all are listed) by its treelike habit, the naked woody stems in old plants attaining a
height of ‘3 to 4 meters” (10 to 14 feet), by its narrow leaves (2 inch wide or less),
and by its much-branched compound flower clusters,

Y. elata has long, slender, yellowish-green, flat, and fibrous-margined leaves, which
readily distinguish it from the ‘‘ Joshua tree”? of southern California, southern Utah,
‘and Arizona, Yucca arborescens Trelease(—Clistoyucca brevifolia (Engelm.) Rydb.). The
leaves of Y. arborescens are short, stout, bluish green, concave above the middle, thick-
ened, and minutely toothed; furthermore, the fruit of Y. arborescens is coated with a
thin, dry pulp instead of being wholly devoid of flesh, the petals are much thicker, and
the stigmas are not stalked.

The often treelike Mohave yucca (Y. mohavensis Sargent) of southern California and
Arizona has leaves often about 2 feet long and 3 inches wide (much longer, wider, and

14 BULLETIN 745, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

mon species of the yucca group of drought-resistant plants in the
Southwest. It is one of the common plants on the dry plains and
mesas from western Texas throughout southern New Mexico to
southern Arizona, and extends into Mexico. It occurs commonly on
the sandy soil which is the favorite habitat of the black grama grass
(Bouteloua ertopoda), on which it reaches its maximum size in
southern New Mexico. The stand on such areas may vary from a
few to 300 plants per acre. Soapweed grows to some extent also on
the clay flats and gravelly slopes adjacent to the sandy soil but does
not reach its maximum stand on such areas. It is found only occa-
sionally on the sandhill areas, probably because the unstable soil
conditions make it difficult for the soapweed to establish itself there.
Wherever it has become established on the sandhill areas, however.
there is often produced a heavy stand. Further study is necessary,
therefore, to determine the factors limiting distribution.

As is indicated by its occurrence in different habitats, soapweed
will grow in sandy, gravelly, or heavy clay soil. It is not exacting
in its moisture requirements. It commonly reaches 5 or 6 feet in
height and sometimes grows as high as 30 feet on the plains where
the annual rainfall is less than 9 inches. On the other hand, it has
been found growing on the embankments of storage tanks at stock-
watering places where the soil is very moist, and the growth seemed to
be little or no different from that on drier areas.

Soapweed commonly reaches a height of from 4 to 6 feet, with a
stem diameter varying from 3 to 6 inches. Occasionally, specimens
reach a height as great as 30. feet and a diameter slightly greater than
6 inches.. Yvutca elata is different from most palm or grasslike plants
in that the stem undergoes diameter enlargement after elongation, or
height growth, has begun. This permits additional increase in
volume and value of the plant aside from height growth, which is
very slow after the plant reaches from 4 to 6 feet.

As in many other drought-resistant plants, growth in soapweed
is very slow. At best the plant requires several years to reach the
average height of from 4 to 6 feet. Judging from the growth of
two-year-old plants, it will take about 10 years for new plants to
reach a height of 36 inches or over, which now appears necessary

stouter than those of Y. elata), and, moreover, its fruit is pulpy, the flesh often being
nearly 3-inch thick.

Another Southwestern yucca that tSually has a treelike form is Schott’s yucca (Yucca
schotii Engelm.), of southern Arizona and Sonora. Its leaves are flat except toward
their concave tips, smooth, light yellow to bluish green, 16 inches to 3 feet long, 1 to 13
inches wide, the thickened, untoothed margins finally breaking into short brittle threads.
Other distinguishing characters are the hairy-woolly inflorescence and the late (October-
November) ripening fruit, with its thir, sweet, pulpy coating.

Yucca macrocarpa (Torr.) Coville, ranging from western Texas to southern Cailfornia,
is distinguished by its long (up to about 3 feet), spiny, concave, yellow-green leaves, very
early fowers (March and April), long-stalked stigmas, and oblong, blackish, fleshy, sweet,
and edible fruits, 3 to 4 inches long, terminating in an abrupt point or terminal appendage.

CHOPPED. SOAPWEED AS EMERGENCY FEED. 15

for profitable cutting as cattle feed. There is little information on
this point, however, and it will be several years before reliable data
become available from growth studies begun in 1915.

Soapweed reproduces by sprouts from the roots of the old plants
and from seed. The reproduction from seed is scant in comparison
with the quantity of seed produced. Flower stalks make their first
appearance about May. 1 to 15 in southern New Mexico, and the
period of blossoming extends from the last week in May to the latter:
part of June. After formation of the seed, the stalk and seed begin’
to dry slowly, and the pod opens in the fall, dropping the light, flat
seed, which may be carried a considerable distance by the wind. The
seed dissemination period often extends through the winter into the
following spring, since the pods do not open fully at first.

Kstablishment of growth from seed is very slow, perhaps _ be-
cause of low vitality of the seed produced or of soil-moisture condi-
tions unfavorable to germination and to establishment of the plants
after germination. Reproduction by sprouts is more rapid. The
sprouts spring up from the roots of the old plants the first growing
season after the old stem is cut or dies. Often also new plants
spring up from the base of old plants that are still alive, indicating
that when old plants mature young ones spring up to take their
places. Usually one or more sprouts spring up from a single old
root, and it is common to find twice as many new plants on an area
as there were old plants formerly. After the first or second year the
growth of sprouts is perhaps not more rapid than the growth of
seedlings.

NECESSITY FOR CONSERVATIVE, SELECTIVE CUTTING.

The growth habits of the soapweed make it important to observe
several precautions in cutting the plant.

While soapweed is abundant on many ranges of the Southwest at
present, the plant is very slow-growing and requires possibly 10 years
to reach the size for profitable cutting. Consequently, indiscriminate
and unlimited cutting would result in depletion of the supply in a
comparatively short time. It is advisable, at least until further in-
formation is available as to the rate of growth of soapweed, that
the soapweed should be used only for emergency feed to carry stock
over a time of drought or for other emergency needs, such as feeding
bulls during winters of average years if this is necessary to insure
satisfactory bull service. As the droughts occur at intervals of from -
three to ten years, it should be possible to determine a rotation sys-
tem of cutting, whereby sufficient soapweed will be available at ahy

time for a drought that may last several years.

16 BULLETIN 745, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

It has been found that areas of sandy soil which have been de-
nuded of vegetation are often reduced to a sandy waste as a result
of wind erosion. The heavy stand of scapweed undoubtedly is an
important factor in bringing about and maintaining stable soil con-
ditions favorable to the establishment and growth of grama grass
and other important range forage plants. It is reasonable to sup-
pose that should the cover of soapweed be removed by cutting on
sandy areas, severe wind erosion would follow and result in range
depletion and difficulty in reestablishing a cover of vegetation.
Some system of selection in cutting whereby a sufficient number of
soapweed plants will be left to serve as protection against wind ero-
sion is advisable. This is very simple where cutting is for feed pur-
poses. It is not profitable to cut plants below 36 inches in height for
feed, and ordinarily more than 50 per cent or more of the plants on
an area are under 36 inches in height. If these plants are left uncut,
they will form a reasonably effective protection.

Ordinarily stock eat all the blooms within reach in the spring of
the year, leaving only the tall plants to furnish seed. In order to
permit natural seeding of areas barren of soapweed it will be neces-
sary to leave some of these'taller plants uncut.

The soapweed plants in their native state on the range have a value
also as a protection to stock. The tall plants furnish shade to stock
during the hot summer days, besides furnishing protection, especially
for young calves, during cold rains and winds, which sometimes occur
in the Southwest. It may be found advisable to leave plants to
furnish such protection in addition to those left for seed plants.
Restricting the use of soapweed to periods of drought and feed
shortage should make it possible to plan the cutting so as to leave a
sufficiently large number of plants on noncut-over areas to furnish
shade and shelter. |

If the plants below 36 inches on areas cut over are left uncut and if
no more cutting is done than is necessary for emergency feed, the
amount of feed obtained from grazing the blossoms, green leaves, and
new growth of the plants will not be materially reduced. Conse-
quently this source of forage can be relied upon as much as before
cutting.

The extent to which plants above 36 inches in height can be removed
without endangering the permanent supply of emergency:feed and
without injury to the forage cover or to soil conditions must be
determined by further investigation. Owing to the slow growth ot
the plant, it will require a. period of years to determine this with
accuracy. In the meantime it will probably be safe to use the soap-
weed for feed if the suggestions given above about cutting are
observed. As new methods are developed for converting the plants
into stock feed, and as more information becomes available as to the

Bul. 745, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. PLATE III.

Fila. 1.—EQUIPMENT USED FOR CHOPPING SOAPWEED INTO CATTLE FEED.

Three men are required to operate this machine. The chopper cost from $300 to $550 and requires
a 15 to 20 horsepower engine to operate it. Run at full capacity it will chop from 25 to 30 tons
of soapweed per day.

Fic. 2.—EFFECT OF WIND EROSION ON SOIL FOLLOWING THE REMOVAL OF
SOAPWEED AND OTHER VEGETATION BY EXTENSIVE GRAZING AND TRAM-
PLING NEAR AN IMPORTANT WATERING PLACE.

The top of the root stumps was the former ground surface.

Bul. 745, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. PLATE IV.

Fic. |1.—A HEAVY STAND OF SOAPWEED (YUCCA ELATA) AS IT OFTEN OCCURS
ON SANDY SOIL ASSOCIATED WITH BLACK GRAMA GRASS (BOUTELOUA
ERIOPODA).

Plants under 36 inches in height and occasional tallseed plants should be left when such areas
are cut over. The young plants and a few older ones will serve as protection against
destructive wind erosion and as protection for stock, besides insuring a Second crop for cut-
ting in perhaps 5 years.

Fig. 2.—SOAPWEED SPROUT THE SECOND YEAR AFTER CUTTING OF THE OLD
PLANT.

Indications are that it will require about 10 years for such young plants to reach average size
for profitable second cutting.

CHOPPED SOAPWEED AS EMERGENCY FEED. 17

growth habits of the plants and their value as a protection in building
up and maintaining range, more extensive cutting for feed may be
found practicable. On the other hand, more restricted cutting than
is here recommended may be found advisable.

USE OF RELATED SPECIES.

SMALL SOAPWEED’ AND SACAHUISTA.

The possibility of making good feed from the leaf portions alone
of plants like the soapweed suggests the use of small soapweed, or bear
grass (Yucca glauca), which occurs north from central New Mexico,
and sacahuista (Nolina microcarpa), which is found in southwestern
New Mexico and southern Arizona, as well as V. erwmpens, which
occurs in western Texas. These often occur in considerable abun-
dance. They do not, however, reach a height of more than 20 inches,
and do not have a trunk or stem similar to that of the soapweed.
They have been tried out as feed with fair success. The plants are
chopped off at the ground, so that the leaves are separated from the
rest. The leaves are then fed to the cattle. It is possible that this
feed might be improved if made into ensilage.

SOTOL.

Sotol (Dasylirion wheeleri) occurs from western Texas to southern
Arizona and D. Texanum in western Texas. Forage analyses and
feeding experiments indicate that sotol is as valuable as soapweed
when it is properly cut and prepared. It is more limited in quantity
than the soapweed, however, since it is confined to the low mountains
and foothills. Unlike the soapweed, it does not sprout again from
the old root when cut. Furthermore, it is slower-growing than the
soapweed, so that there will be an indefinite period after cutting
before another stand is ready to cut.

SUMMARY.

Severe droughts which occur at intervals of from three to ten
years have in the past caused severe setbacks to the range cattle
industry in the Southwest through the greatly reduced crop of range
forage during such periods and the lack of an economical feed as a
substitute. A substitute, which is satisfactory to a large extent
at any rate, has been found in soapweed (Yucca elata).

On the range soapweed is important as forage. Stock eat the
leaves of the plant when other more palatable vegetation is scarce.
The blooms and the growing tip in the center of the upper circle
of leaves form an important part of the forage for cattle in the late
spring and early summer.

18 BULLETIN 745, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

Forage analysis has shown chopped soapweed to be comparable
with native forage grasses and some of the poorer hay crops. The
entire stem as well as the leaves can be utilized, and machines have
been developed for chopping both stem and leaves into particles
small enough to be eaten by cattle. As ensilage it is satisfactory, but
the ensilage process is unnecessary where the soapweed is abundant.
The chopped trunks or stems, which furnish the bulk of the feed, are
palatable and, when fed with the chopped leaves, are readily eaten
by stock without any softening process.

Results obtained on the Jornada Range Reserve, where more than
1,000 head of poor cows were fed in the spring of 1918 with very
light losses, and results obtained on many other ranches in the South-
west to which the feeding practice spread rapidly, have demonstrated
very clearly that the feeding of soapweed, with a supplemental ration
of cottonseed meal or other similar concentrate, is practicable as a
means of maintaining range cattle in time of drought.

The dead leaves should be removed before the plants are chopped.
On the Jornada Range Reserve this was done by burning. If there
is no danger of fire spreading, the burning can be done best while
the plants are standing on the range. Otherwise, the burning should
be done after the plants are hauled to the chopper. The reason for
the removal of the dead leaves is that they are of low forage value
and are unpalatable.

Plants over 36 inches in height should be selected for cutting.
Those selected should be chopped off at the ground surface and run
through a specially constructed machine which cuts or tears the en-
tire plant into particles fine enough to be readily eaten by stock.
This chopped feed mixed with a small amount of cottonseed meal
or similar concentrate is fed to the stock, preferably in large troughs.

From 15 to 20 pounds of chopped soapweed with 1 to 14 pounds of
cottonseed meal daily will maintain the average breeding cow and
may improve her condition slowly. | }

During 1918 the total operation in handling the soapweed from
its native condition on the Jornada Range Reserve to the feed lot cost
from $2.27 to $2.78 per ton, not taking into consideration the initial
cost of machinery and equipment. With cottonseed meal at $63.50
per ton the cost of maintaining a cow on from 15 to 20 pounds of the
mixed feed per day was from $1.46 to $1.95 per month, besides the
cost of providing water and salt and of handling of the stock.

Where cows are very poor when placed on feed, it will probably
be profitable to give them a larger ration for 20 or 30 days until they
improve in condition sufficiently to be carried on the lighter ration
without danger of loss. Stock that have improved on the lighter
ration can probably be maintained at a slightly lower cost on a scant

CHOPPED SOAPWEED AS EMERGENCY FEED. 19

grass or browse pasture and 14 pounds of cottonseed cake per day,
especially where securing labor is a difficult problem.

Poor cattle should not be fed all the soapweed feed they will eat
the first few days on feed, since there is a slight danger of loss from

bloating until they pecan accustomed to the feed.

Choking may occur as a result of a cow trying to swallow too large
a particle of the soapweed. This is only occasional, however, and can
be avoided by the use of a machine that cuts the feed properly.

There is no cumulative ill effect on the digestive tract of cattle fed
on the soapweed over a long period. Neither is there any harmful
purgative effect from the soapweed, except occasional scouring when
feeding is continued after the sap begins to rise in the plant. On
the contrary, the soapweed tends to keep the digestive tract of the
animals in good condition. It is possible that the occasional scour-
ing effect may be overcome by delaying the chopping of the plants
into feed until they have been allowed to dry out for several days
after the dry leaves are burned. This, however, is a suggestion only,
as it has not been tried in practice.

The soapweed is found from western Texas to southern Arizona
It reaches its average height and heaviest stands on the sandy soils
usually occupied also by the black grama grass of the region. It is
one of the slow-growing drought-resistant plants, and: although it re-
produces by sprouts from the old roots it probably requires 10 years
for such sprouts to become tall enough for a profitable second cutting.

The soapweed has some value as a protection *for cattle against
storms and against the heat of the sun.

Soapweed is slow-growing, occupies a soil highly subject to wind
erosion, and is a protection to stock, so that it is advisable to use the
plant only as emergency feed. Only the larger plants should be
selected for cutting, the smaller ones being left to protect the soil.
Occasional plants tall enough for the blooms to be out of the reach
of cattle should be left for seed plants and as a protection for stock.

Small soapweed, or bear grass (Yucca glauca), and sacahuista
(Nolina microcarpa and N. erwmpens) are somewhat similar to the
soapweed, the small soapweed being found slightly farther north.
It is possible that the greatest use of these plants for feed will be
as ensilage.

Sotol (Dasylirion wheeleri and D. texanum) furnish feed for cattle
about equal in value to soapweed when similarly chopped and pre-
pared, but its limited distribution and slow reproduction restrict
its importance as an emergency stock feed.

Methods of converting the soapweed into stock feed are not yet
thoroughly developed, and will doubtless be improved upon. More
data on the rate of growth, which it will take several years to acquire,

20 - BULLETIN 745, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

-wili make available information upon which to base a satisfactory
cutting system. Further investigations may warrant modification
in the present cutting practice either by extending or by restricting
cutting. Meantime, however, it is believed that the soapweed may
be cut for use as an emergency feed without any great damage to
the range or danger of depleting the supply for emergency feeding ~
if the suggestions contained in this bulletin relative to selective cut-
ting are followed.

O